Occupational Injuries and Work Place Violence

Occupational injuries and workplace violence are defined and discussed in terms of their nature, scope, and importance as public health problems. The public health approach to injury prevention is described and distinctions and commonalities between occupational and nonoccupational injuries presented. Also described are sources of occupational injury data; causal and risk factors; prevention strategies, including the Haddon Matrix and hierarchy of controls; and strategies for transferring injury prevention research results to workplace practice. Workplace violence discussions include the role of surveillance; risk factors; and prevention approaches, including legislative, administrative and behavioral, and environmental design approaches.